Intermission Impossible

One: Solo performances return to Theatreworks in July

Local storyteller, Elaine Blanchard kicks off the series with her heart wrenching one-woman show, For Goodness Sake. Created through Voices of the South Theatre Company, For Goodness Sake has delighted sold out houses in Memphis over the past year. Director David Prete and performer, Elaine Blanchard, present one woman’s struggle to overcome oppression. Audiences are confronted with the reality of all types of oppression (racial, sexual, gender, religious…), and challenged to make a change.

Recent University of Memphis graduate, Jason Gerhard, joins Elaine in the first week of the series. Jason will be performing his brand new show, Imagine This. This hilarious show examines the minds of children and explores one adult’s tragic loss of his imagination. Jason wrote this show based on interviews with local, Memphis children…and a few adults. Join us on this magical journey into the wild world of imagination! Bring the whole family. This one is kid friendly!

Imagine This runs July 3-4

The second week of the series welcomes Lisa Wilson. Lisa is a performer, professor, writer, director, and Chair of the Theatre Department at the University of Tulsa. Her unflinchingly honest show, Birthing the Cone, explores a woman approaching the third phase of her life, including the onset of menopause. Birthing the Crone was a huge hit at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, and now graces the TheatreWorks stage. Lisa uses humor and honesty about the challenges in her own life to explore this new and often frightening phase of life.

Birthing the Crone runs July 8 -11

The series continues with Latrelle Bright’s production of Matter. Latrelle received her MFA in Directing form the University of Memphis and is coming back to town to inspire audiences with her audience interactive show, Matter. Matter began as a short piece for Voices of the South’s Pre-sent Pres-ent 2009, and was a favorite of both audiences and critics. It is now a full-length piece that explores our responsibility to Mother Earth through stories, projections, beautiful movement, spoken word, and audience dialogue.

The performances come to an exciting close with another Memphis native, Jazmin Miller. Jazmin steps into the role of the legendary abolitionist Sojourner Truth in her show, The Journey of Truth. Her passion for the story creates an honest account this Sojourner’s legacy. Jazmin’s wit, and disarming presence draw audiences into to this amazing account of bravery and faith in God’s goodness.